What is lost

This task was certainly more difficult than anything Eldrian had tried before. He had learned to control his own lifeforce. He could even... 'Who was it who trained me? I can remember someone helped me master...'

The years spent on the Realm of Time meant years detached from his old life. Decades of observing all of creation. Years in which his sanity had been broken, and years in which he had slowly accepted his new reality. Been born anew, as an observer.

His heart had been so sure when he had tried to return to Earth, but now... Now he wasn't sure why he had done that. Why had he left the safety of the Realm of Time?

Time had passed. A lot of it. In Eldrian's conscious experience, his life on Earth felt short compared to everything else he had experienced. So short, that it almost seemed inconsequential. Like a fleeting dream he had had, once upon a time. 

Once upon a time...